>> reporter: a short time later, detectives say dorner opened fire on two riverside police officers. 34-year-old mike crain was killed. with no sign of dorner in the city, officers in big bear discovered his burnt-out truck with a cache of weapons inside. >> police department. >> reporter: for the last six days, officers have cleared cabins and combed through the forest. law enforcement sources tell nbc news that one of the deputies shot was killed. that brings the death total in this reign of terror to four. brian? >> miguel almaguer starting us off from l.a. tonight. miguel, thanks. let's go to mike tie even any san bernadino county, just outside of big bear. mike, another loss of life tonight. this just continues to be a rolling nightmare in southern california. set the scene for us there.

>> reporter: unbelievable, brian. if this is the last act in this desperate drama, it's not over yet. there may be another victim in this, the gunman, the suspect himself. we don't know yet whether he is still in that cabin. he has not been seen since the smoke started billowing about 4:00 our time. the flames, as you pointed out, started a little over an hour ago there were reports of a single gunshot. one of our colleague, cameraman tim walton, says he was standing and he heard a single gunshot at that point and then rounds going off as though it were rounds being fired off at random because of the fire. that cabin has been surrounded all this time, brian, by law enforcement from every agency you could imagine as you would expect at this point. no one has been seen coming out f someone was coming out, they would have been seen. not yet approached the cabin in case that was the case through case there were bobby traps with mines sets out. this was an individual you first spotted today, described by witnesses wearing full

camouflage, having a long rifle, a 50-caliber rifle that shoots armor-piercing shells. he was wearing armor protection. who knows what the final stage was of this drama, not quite open yet. brian? >> look at what this one determined and trained individual has done to this entire region. >> reporter: it's unbelievable. he said -- i reread his manifesto this morning for the third time. he said he was going to reassess and reattack until his objectives were met. and his objectives, his so-called high-value targets were accurately portrayed in in that manifest toe, included at least 50 named people, most of them lapd people, involved in what he says was his unfair firing back in 2008 a lot of things wanted to accomplish, all of them deadly, it may be coming to an end right now. brian? >> we look behind mike there to see the traffic all lined up. this is still affecting such a large part of the southern california region tonight. mike taibbi, san bernadino county. mike, thanks.

all of this, of course, going on, we are here on capitol hill, as the president getting ready to deliver earth state of the union address tonight. our political director, chief white house correspondent chuck todd, across town at the white house with a preview. chuck, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. you know, as you know, historically, second-term and second-term presidents, their domestic goals have a shelf life of about 18 months. the white house is well aware of this and they want to use this state of the union tonight to not just talk about those goals but to try to convince congress to do big things and to do them now. >> mr. president, what's the theme? >> we will find out tonight. >> reporter: the president tight-lipped today but the lion's share of tonight's state of the union address will focus on the economy and job creation, echoing themes from the campaign. >> this is a real, achievable plan that will lead to new jobs and more opportunity and rebuild this economy on a stronger foundation. >> reporter: and while he will unveil new proposals, aides say he intends to stay with this

familiar message that won him a second term. >> this president has had a consistent economic theory about how we improve our economy. it's by growing the middle class and strengthening the middle class. >> reporter: the president's call for more spending, coupled with debt reduction that includes more taxes, continues to be a nonstarter with republicans, as speaker john boehner told "today's" matt lauer. >> i think the president is out of ideas when it comes to how to fix the economy because everything he seems to he wants to do is more tax hikes and stimulus venue. >> reporter: there will be more foreign policy in tonight's speech, including an announcement that 34,000 u.s. soldiers will be coming home from afghanistan in the next year. while reducing gun violence will only be a small part of the president's speech, it's a big part of tonight's atmospherics. watching from the balcony will be several families from the tragic newtown school shooting, the parent of hadiya pendleton, a teenager who was shot and killed in chicago last month. and gabrielle giffords in this

new anti-violence gun ad. >> take it from me, congress must act. let's get this done. >> reporter: following the president, its republicans chose marco rubio to deliver earth response in both spanish and english. of course, will be the president's cabinet. a lot of the new choices will not be there like the defense -- the person up for defense secretary, chuck hagel, but chuck hagel is a step closer tonight, brian. he got through a key committee and there might be a full vote on his confirmation by as early as thursday. >> chuck todd, we'll see more of you later tonight. thanks. and let's bring in the rest of our team. we're joined by three former nbc news white house correspondents here in the studio, david gregory, andrea mitchell and savannah guthrie. not an attempt to make anybody feel old. david, we will start with you. what are you looking for tonight? >> this is ultimately about the economy. economic restoration is really what the president those focus on in a second term. he has got an opportunity here on guns. you will see a big show of that

tonight. on immigration, he can work with republicans but there is bedrock opposition. i spent time with the house speaker today. these two sides are so far apart on taxes and spending. they don't see a way really to get together. i think it's going to be tough speech from that point of view and i think republicans are only gonna dig in. >> savannah, atmospherics going into tonight. every year is different. this year more different from the others. >> there's all this emotional weight because of the attendees, this coordinated effort to have victims of gun violence there in the hall, at a moment when the president is trying to push this -- these gun initiatives. and the calendar is the enemy for him on that because the farther we get away from something like newtown, the harder it is for him to accomplish his objectives. i think he is trying to seize the moment on many different levels. the political calendar, for sure, hints of compromise on things like guns and immigration, but also, this is a president who is enjoying somewhat of a second honeymoon in terms of the approval ratings and also looks at the republican party as deeply fractured, weak and vulnerable and he wants to seize on that. >> and now to our chief foreign affairs correspondent. last night, a bulletin went out,

andrea, that a 4.9 to 5.1 artificial earthquake had been detected in north korea. quickly, we knew it was a nuclear test. that's on the radar for the president. >> it's on the radar front and center for him, because, first of all, it was much bigger than previous tests. it was the first under this new, young, korean leader, kim jong un, and potentially, they claim at least, set off by a miniaturized device, which could indicate they have made big progress on getting a small weapon on top of a missile. they just did a rocket test in december. and the problem, the threat would be are they advancing to the point where they could potentially reach the continental united states with perhaps a lucky shot? >> all right, andrea mitchell, thanks. and we are going to somehow find room for chuck todd tonight, but we will scrunch together. we will see all of you later on. and stay with us here on nbc, of course. full coverage of the state of the union address beginning 9 eastern here on this nbc station.

to another front, we are learning more tonight about the weeks and months that have led up to the pope's surprise resignation, a closely held secret that was apparently planned for quite some time. we are also getting new details about how this transition will work involving, after all, the abdication of a living former pope, something the church hasn't experienced since the middle ages. nbc's anne thompson has made her way to the vatican tonight. anne, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. first, some news about the pope's health. we learned today that three months ago, the pope underwent surgery to replace a battery in his pacemaker. the vatican officials say that pacemaker was inserted into the pope's heart before he became the pontiff. i asked a vatican spokesperson if that surgery had anything to do with the pope's decision to step down. he said no, that decision was made almost a year ago after the pope returned from his visit to

cuba and mexico. now, since the shock of the decision has worn off, people here at the vatican are beginning to see the clues they missed to monday's stunning announcement. for example, why is there all this construction work going on at a monastery here at the vatican and who is going to live there? the answer is that is where pope benedict is going to make his retirement home. tomorrow, the pope will hold his weekly audience, and then later in the day, he will preside over ash wednesday mass, marking the beginning of lent. that mass was supposed to be held in a small church in rome. it's been move here to st. peter's basilica to accommodate the thousands who are expected to attend what could well be the pope's last public mass. brian? >> all those pieces and clues now apparent. it will be an interesting 16 days ahead. anne thompson in vatican city, thanks. still ahead as we continue on a busy tuesday night, the cruise ship nightmare in the gulf of mexico. an increasingly ugly scene on board. five working toilets, 3,000 people. that's just the start of it.

we are back now with some of the horror stories we are hearing, the stories emerging about some of the 4200 passengers and crew on board the carnival cruise ship "triumph." it all started when the ship caught fire, lost power sunday night, setting off an awful chain of events on board, including sweltering temperatures and a shortage of food, bathroom facilities, all while being slowly towed into port in mobile, alabama. our report tonight from nbc's janet shamlian. >> reporter: it's a long, slow ride, as tugboats drag the disabled carnival cruise ship "triumph" to mobile and with five working toilets for some 3,000 passengers, it's a pretty miserable ride. donna gutsman is on board. >> the worst part is the bathrooms. there's no water.

you can't really flush. so, everyone's going in little plastic baggies and putting it outside their rooms. >> reporter: passengers say the stench is inescapable. there's no air conditioning on board. many with interior cabins have dragged mattresses to various parts of the ship to find fresh air. shelia and jerry cox were able to phone their daughter, lindsey. >> they are sleeping on the deck on lounge chairs and the boat is just rocking back and forth because there's no stabilization. >> reporter: food service is limited. onion sandwiches were reportedly on the menu today and the wait for something to eat can last up to three hours. marissa morrell's mother is celebrating her birthday on the ship. >> people were starting to get very frustrated is what she was saying. you know, it's a very panicky situation. >> reporter: "triumph" has been dead in the water and drifting north since an engine room fire sunday. plans to tow it to mexico were scrapped when the ship drifted too far north. now being towed to alabama at

just six knots, it will be late wednesday or even thursday before passengers are finally able to get off. when they do, there's still the trip home or back to the port in texas. carnival says it's sorry for the inconvenience, offering passengers a full refund and a future cruise. janet shamlian, nbc news, mobile. on wall street today in new york, mixed finish overall with the dow up 47 points. nasdaq down 5 and the s & p 500 up 2. but the dow managed to close at its highest level in five years. it's just 1% away now from its all-time high setback in october of '07. we are back in a moment with what doctors are now saying about pregnant women and reducing the risk of autism.

there is a high-interest story in health news tonight. it has to do with folic acid, specifically, a new study found that women who take folic acid supplements around the time they become pregnant may be 40% less likely to have children with autism. the crucial period for the folic acid consumption is apparently a month prior to conception and the first two months of pregnancy, a critical period for

brain development. our company is in the news tonight. comcast, the majority owners of nbc universal, have announced they are buying out ge's remaining share of 49% of the company, in addition to buying outright the ge real estate at our iconic 30 rock headquarters building in midtown manhattan. it's a big deal financially, $18.1 billion in all. it will end 27 years of either full or partial ge ownership of nbc. and we received sad news late today that we have lost a member of our family. long-time viewers of "nbc nightly news" will instantly recognize tom aspell, a veteran foreign correspondent for nbc news. tom died yesterday after a two-year-long battle with lung cancer. starting as a cameraman back in 1971, later as a correspondent, tom covered it all, bosnia, chechnya, baghdad.

he covered the fall of saigon, the fall of saddam, even the fall of the shah. when he wasn't displaying an intense brand of cool under fire, he loved his home on cyprus, loved being out on the water on his sailboat. he was a native new zealander, at home anywhere in the world really. and in that sense, a classic foreign correspondent. he leaves behind his wife and two sons. tom aspell, a 28-year nbc veteran, was 62 years old. when we come back, the touching love letters of a hard-charging future president showing a softer side we haven't seen till now.

finally tonight, from washington, the johnson presidential library in austin will tomorrow release the early love letters between a young lyndon and a young lady bird. he proposed soon after meeting her. and while we know him as a man used to getting his way, we may now get to know him as a great romantic as well. in the run-up to valentine's day, the museum gave nightly news the first access to these letters. we, in turn, asked the johnson

grandchildren to read both parts aloud. here are katherine robb and lyndon nugent. >> september 23, 1934. "i could read and reread a letter from you which contained just one central idea. i want to hear you say over and over again that i love you." if all you know of lbj is what you see on the history channel or read in books, it would not occur to you that he was really a very loving, sensitive person who had fallen in love and was wooing the woman he wanted to marry. "for a long time, i've played with fire and haven't even been scorched, but every man sooner or later meets his waterloo." >> i have to say, when i was reading through them, i just found myself smiling a lot. and i was laughing a few times, because, again, it was just sort of the -- you know, they were very heartfelt emotions. october 6, 1934. "i wish you were here this minute because i feel silly and gay and i want to ruffle up your hair and kiss you and say silly

things." and that's one that makes me smile. >> it's kind of tough to remember that they weren't always the people that the country came to know them as being. they were just two regular people trying to figure out what life was all about. i don't think he had perfected that johnson treatment yet, and so i think he was really trying to figure out, have i pushed too hard? "tell me soon, dear, just how you know you do feel. i don't want to go on this way. do you? will you tell me?" >> he's impatient. he wants -- he doesn't understand why the second date wasn't an appropriate time to propose. she's sort of the calm in the storm saying let's just slow down a little bit. "must you have all or nothing? i love you more than anyone, but we must wait until we know each other better, until there isn't any doubt." >> quite frankly, it's very enjoyable to think about the -- how that happened back then. >> it's less likely we will have this for future generations, that will have these beautiful long letters where people are really sort of expressing themselves. >> "give me lots of letters next week.

i'm going to need them. mix some 'i love you' in the lines and not between them. adios until tomorrow, lyndon." >> our thanks to lyndon nugent and katherine robb, grandchildren of president and mrs. johnson, married for 39 years. that's it for us. we will be back on the air for the state of the union at 9/6 pacific tonight. for now from washington, i'm brian williams. good night.

from nbc news, the state of the union address, live from washington. here's brian williams. >> well, good evening. and behind us here tonight, the entire government will be gathered in one building for the president's state of the union address, and in many ways, tonight the real work of the

second term of the obama presidency begins. at least the part the president would like to accomplish and where he sees the nation headed. he faces, of course, a sharply divided congress, sometimes violently so, and a divided viewing audience. here tonight, a nation starting to see some daylight after years of recession, and it's the long, suffering middle class that will be the target of much of his message tonight. we should tell you at the same time, we are following a very tense news event, across the continent on the west coast in the san berardino mountains, gunfire and then a fire over an hour we've been watching this in a cabin in the woods believed to contain the sniper, ex-cop, the military veteran that has terrorized southern california for days. another loss of life tonight. a police deputy there confirmed